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Sleep Study Now Offered

11/20/2012

New diagnostic service available at Pioneer Memorial Hospital

VIBORG, SD: People with a sleep disorder can now undergo a diagnostic sleep study close to home at Pioneer Memorial Hospital. The announcement was made by Grace Tidball, Director of Ambulatory Care, who stated, “We recently signed a contract with Pulmonary Sleep Consultants operated by Dr.Rizan Hajal to offer a sleep lab on an outpatient basis at Pioneer Memorial Hospital beginning immediately.

Dr. Syed Asif Shah, Internal Medicine Physician at Pioneer Memorial added, “Physicians may not detect a sleep problem during a routine office visit because you’re awake. Yet sleep disorders, especially sleep apnea, can be life threatening. That is why a sleep study is important. It can help us diagnose more accurately whether your sleep disorder is mild, moderate or severe, and prescribe treatment accordingly. Operating a sleep lab here at Pioneer Memorial provides greater convenience to our area patients.”

Approximately 80 million Americans suffer from some form of sleep disorder. Of that 80 million, approximately 30% or 26 million suffer from sleep apnea. Approximately 25% of children between the ages of 1-5 experience some sort of sleep disorder. These disorders can lead to hyperactivity, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), excessive sleepiness, etc.

Signs of sleep disorders include loud snoring, always feeling tired, falling asleep while driving, disturbed sleep, waking up tired or with a headache, waking up with a dry or sore throat, and depression. Other common signs and symptoms of sleep disorders include, it takes you more than 30 minutes to fall asleep at night, or you often wake up during the night and have trouble falling asleep again.

If you have any of the above symptoms, you may have a sleep disorder which can be easily and quickly treated if diagnosed. You should consult with your physician about any of these symptoms. He or she may be able to diagnose a sleep disorder based on your sleep schedule and habits. However, he or she also might need the results from sleep studies and other medical tests. If a sleep study is ordered by your physician, it can now be done at Pioneer Memorial Hospital.

During a full sleep study the patient’s brain wave activity is monitored to determine the various sleep stages. Other measurements include eye activity, heart rate, airflow from the mouth and nose, chest and abdomen movement, oxygen levels in the blood, body position, and muscle movements. This is all accomplished pain-free, with the use of patches, belts and computers.